So Long Bug Ranch

During a recent trip out west, which I aborted because of a death in the family, I stopped at something I have photographed several times over the years, a touristy knock-off of Stanley Marsh’s famous Cadillac Ranch, the Bug Ranch. Located at an exit along Interstate 40 at Conway, Texas, this display of Volkswagens buried in the ground was part of a store and motel complex that has long since failed, and is now being reclaimed by nature.

It’s only a stop because it’s funny to see and is on the Interstate we use when traveling out west. I can recall stopping there in 2002, 2003, 2004, and this time. I expect that it will continue to deteriorate for some time followed by the property being purchased by some developer who will build a sleek, heartless travel plaza there.

Stanley Marsh’s Cadillac Ranch on the west end of Amarillo, Texas, is completely non-commercial, set in the middle of a wheat field with nothing else around. This image was made at sunset in November 2012.This building formerly housed a convenience store directly behind the Bug Ranch.Tumbleweeds and empty structures probably spell the end of the Bug Ranch.